the disenchanting of princess cerridwen
On a night when wild magic erupts and sweeps through the city of the Athoden Clan, the princess and shieldmaiden Cerridwen finds herself transformed into a man, and that none among her people remember her true self. None save the others of her people who are also transformed… and Damhnait, the blacksmith’s daughter. Can Cerridwen and Damhnait save the other transformed victims before their own people sacrifice them to appease the angry gods?
about the story
In September of 2009, I learned about the Outer Alliance, a group advocating queer and queer-friendly fiction, and supporting the authors that write it. In its honor, I released under Creative Commons my story “The Disenchanting of Princess Cerridwen”.
“Cerridwen” is set in the same universe as the Rebels of Adalonia trilogy, and is extremely early backstory for its Big Bad. But it’s not really her story–rather, it’s the story of two young women, Cerridwen and Damhnait, whose city is overcome by the eruption of a young elven mage’s magic. Transformed into a male form, Cerridwen must choose between accepting the seemingly peaceful facade the magic has forced upon her–and risking losing the love of Damhnait if she does.
With the release of Victory of the Hawk in 2015, certain historical names were changed in Adalonia’s timeline. So I updated the text of this story, as well as getting it new cover art.
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the blood of the land
During the Civil War, the escaped slaves Dorcas and Caleb flee northward with the help of the Underground Railroad. But Dorcas has a secret gift that makes her very valuable to her incensed masters, who will stop at nothing to get her back–including killing those who would give her aid. Yet the seemingly simple farmers Elias and Jenny Sutherland have secrets of their own, secrets revealed when blood is shed upon the land.
about the story
“The Blood of the Land” was originally published in the Drollerie anthology Defiance, which went out of print when Drollerie folded in 2011. I have republished the story as a standalone download.
It is set in the Warder universe, along with Faerie Blood and Bone Walker–but unlike those books, it is not a contemporary story. It’s also my first attempt at writing a ghost story, and my first attempt to explore some of the darker ramifications of Warder power going wrong.
On Smashwords, you may choose your own price for this story, including ‘free’. (The recommended price is set to $0.99.)
buy the story
Here are all the places where you can buy the story, in addition to Amazon and the store here on the site: